Employment tribunal solicitor costs for unfair dismissal claims
Unfair and wrongful dismissal claims before the employment tribunal are one of the services for which a regulated firm in England and Wales that publicises the work as being on offer must publish prices on its website. In practice our scan finds price information for at least one service on only a small minority of firm websites overall: the current figure is on the statistics page. Here is what published prices actually look like, and what to check before you instruct anyone.
What firms' published prices look like
- Hourly rates. Most employment work is charged by the hour. Published rates typically run from around 200 to 400 pounds plus VAT depending on seniority.
- Unfair dismissal claims. Firms' own published estimates for a straightforward claim with no discrimination or whistleblowing elements commonly start around 5,000 pounds plus VAT and rise well beyond 30,000 pounds for complex cases or multi-day hearings.
- Wrongful dismissal claims. Usually cheaper, because the claim turns on the contract (notice pay) rather than fairness. Published estimates often sit in the low thousands plus VAT.
- Barristers' fees. Many firms instruct a barrister for the final hearing as a disbursement, with published guideline figures often around 1,500 to 3,000 pounds plus VAT per hearing day.
These are typical ranges from published fee pages, not quotes. There is no tribunal fee for making a claim, and each side normally pays its own legal costs whatever the outcome, which is why the fee question matters so much here.
Time limits, and the change coming in October 2026
- For most claims the current time limit is three months less one day from the dismissal or the act complained of. You must notify Acas for early conciliation within that period; conciliation can pause the clock.
- For events on or after 1 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 extends the time limit for most tribunal claims to six months less one day. Earlier events generally keep the existing deadline.
- For dismissals taking effect on or after 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months of continuous service, and the cap on the compensatory award is removed. Day-one protection for automatically unfair dismissals is unchanged.
Deadlines in this area are strict and missing one is usually fatal to the claim, so confirm the limit that applies to your dates before anything else.
What the firm's website must already tell you
Where a firm publicises, as part of its usual business, advice and representation for employees bringing or employers defending unfair or wrongful dismissal claims before the employment tribunal (publicly funded work is excluded), the SRA Transparency Rules require the firm's website to show the total cost or an average or range with the basis for the charges, what is included and what is not, likely disbursements such as barristers' fees and their cost, whether VAT applies and the amount, the key stages and typical timescales, and the experience and qualifications of the people doing the work and their supervisors. If the firm acts under a conditional fee or damages-based agreement, it must also explain when clients may have to make payments themselves, including from any damages.
Because employment cases are mostly charged hourly, the ranges firms publish are wide. That is allowed, but the basis for the charges must still be there: the hourly rates, what makes a case simple or complex, and which stages the estimate covers.
How to compare quotes
Ask each firm the same questions in writing: the hourly rates of the people who would work on your case, their estimate for your specific situation broken into stages, whether the final hearing and barrister's fee are included, and what happens to costs if the case settles early. Many claims settle through Acas conciliation before a hearing, so ask what the fee would be in that scenario too. The solicitor prices guide has a template email you can adapt.
See whether a firm publishes what the rules expect
You can run a free SRA website check on any firm you are considering: our scanner reads the public pages and reports whether it found price information, the clickable SRA badge and complaints information. The transparency statistics show how firm websites across England and Wales compare.
This guide is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice. Fee figures are typical market ranges from published fee pages, not quotes. Website findings are automated, come from public pages only, and are not a legal opinion.